Cul-de-Sac

David Martin strikes again. I am completely in awe of his creation of Growler, a maniacal serial killer with an interesting twist. I was so caught up in this story that there was no way I could put it down and ended up finishing it in one afternoon. Martin's writing is clear, and he drew me in with all the twists and turns to this story. Donald Growler knows he has been wronged. He has just spent several years of his life in prison for a crime he says he never committed. Now he's out, and he's in search of all the people who caused him to be locked up. I was squirming in my chair with the descriptions of some of the more creative murders in this novel. The plot twists are amazing, and there were quite a few surprises. I love that Teddy Camel makes another appearance; he was a great character in Martin's LIE TO ME (another incredible serial killer novel). Martin is not for the squeamish! He is very detailed, and his bad guys are downright brutal. But he is a master of plot and character development. This is well worth the time to read!

From the front cover to the last page, Martin delivers a non stop, heart-stopping, adrenaline pumping thriller, that burns images into your mind, and steals your breath away. When the heads rolled, and ended up in the washer and dryer with the cycles on, I could not put it down. A superb read!

From the moment that Martin hits the unsuspecting reader with the "head" gag in the first chapter, Cul-De-Sac had me well and truely hooked. An absolutely spiffing thriller that never loses momentum, punctuated with the occasional exceedingly nasty scene, and all wrapped up with a huge dose of hilarious gallows humour, makes for an absolutely unputdownable page-turner. I can't wait for Tarantino (or possibly Cronenberg?) to make the movie!

The dialogue is right out of NYPD Blue (a compliment, of course). The discussion by a couple of the characters on whether Growler's name is pronounded Grow-ler or Growl-er is hilarious. Also appreciated by this reader is that Martin gives a plausible rationalization for Annie returning to Cul De Sac, knowing that a killer is probably waiting for her. So instead of saying to myself, "Lady, don't go in there!", I'm saying, "Yeah, I can see why she'd do that." I liked that he cared enough about the reader to realize that we'd need a reason for her risky behavior.

The majority of my favorite books have me well-hooked by the end of the first chapter. David Martin's latest nailed me by the end of the first page. And kept me thoroughly riveted right through the end.Cul-De-Sac involves a very burned-out ex-cop, whose life is turned inside-out by the sudden appearance of his sensuous ex-girlfriend, the fairly freckled Annie. There's also the ex-girlfriend's husband (an ex-Jesuit). Most notably, there is Growler -- an ex-con who, after serving time for a murder he didn't commit, goes on a bloody rampage of vengence against all those who put him away. Growler's prison experiences have left him with a serious grudge as well as a new set of teeth; he's a man on a mission and in addition to wreaking some extremely violent havoc, is in desperate search of...yup, you guessed it; an elephant. Really.This book made me laugh out loud. It also made me avert my eyes from the page occasionally; while some scenes are very funny, be warned that the violence is not for the faint of heart.I've bought four more copies for friends thus far, because I won't let mine out of my sight. I've also scrambled to get my hands on all of Martin's previous books (only partially successful); Cul-De-Sac takes gets my vote as Martin's best for its sheer audicity, outrageousness, and great, great writing.If you're a fan of Pulp Fiction or Twin Peaks, Cul-De-Sac will thrill you